Episode 44- Colonial trauma and criminal justice: yarns on understanding the 'why', reparation, and the importance of connection to the land with Sarah
On this episode I am so grateful to be joined again by the incredible Sarah Salter-Kelly. She first joined me in Episode 38, so go back and check out that episode if you'd like to know more about Sarah's story and some context to this second yarn.
Sarah shares her journey towards forgiving her mother's murderer, and what she uncovered about colonial trauma in the criminal justice system during this process. Part of her healing looked like learning about the perpetrator's history as a First Nations person in Canada, connecting with his sister, and exploring restorative justice mechanisms. Sarah discovered that her mother's murder was really the result of on-going impacts of colonisation.
Sarah discusses how reparation of harm done and restorative justice requires us removing ideas of "us and them", acknowledging the humanity in perpetrators of crime. We need to lean in and be willing to understand the 'why' behind someone's actions, rather than giving people a label and choosing to look away.
We discuss the importance of connection with land in indigenous cultures in both Canada and New Zealand, and how the forcible removal of people from their cultural lands has had a lasting impact. Sarah also shares the importance of people of settler origin connecting with their own ancestral lands, as well as the land they now inhabit, as a way of moving towards healing.
To find out more about Sarah and the amazing work she is doing, check out her website or follow her over on Instagram @sarahsalterkelly.
Book recommendation: "My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies" by Resmaa Menakem.
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If you enjoyed this episode I would love to hear from you! Come and find me over on Instagram @yarnsforthesoulnicole.